Stepanakert

It is so striking to see the difference between the two cities of Shushi and Stepanakert, although they are only a few kilometers away from each other. Stepanakert is the capital of Karabakh. It has its own president, national assembly and ministry of foreign affairs-Karabakh is technically an independent republic but it is not recognized by any country other than Armenia. Weird I know.

After the war, all of the concentration was focused on rebuilding Stepanakert as quickly as possible. Today, when you walk through the city it is as if nothing ever happened there. There are no signs of destruction left over. It's a small, compact, cute little town with tree lined streets. The city is pretty self-sufficient, with its own university, observatory, theatre, museums, restaurants, bazaars, and even an internet cafe.

Thanks to the sponsorship of a rich diasporan Armenian, the city even has a mini cascade (which looks a lot like the one in Yerevan). A couple of years ago he sponsored a huge event in which over 700 couples got married right in the center of it. The things people spend money on never ceases to surprise me.

While we were there it never stopped raining. It only changed from light drizzle, to heavy pelting rain back and forth. During our tour of the city, as a respite from the rain, we got up on the stage in the center of the city (directly across from the President's house), and being the spyurkahays that we are- started dancing Armenian shurjpar on the stage. Once again, everyone thought we were crazy. I think we're crazy too.

The last must see in Stepanakert is the statue of grandma and grandpa (aka we are our mountains). It is a huge statue created to symbolize the unity of Armenia and Karabakh (although the wasn't the original purpose). It almost acts like a guardian atop the city...

(Images from top: the president's house, a tree lined street in Stepanakert-you don't even get that in Yerevan, our group in the old part of Stepanakert- Armen Natasha Paulene  Melody Mandy Saro Gabrielle Martiros and yours truly, the mini cascade where all the couples got married, Mikhael and Sevan walking in the rain, Saro and all those umbrellas,  and we move to the awning under the stage, and we start dancing on the stage, Armen and I in front of the university- maybe I should go to law school in Karabakh, the bazaar's selection of pickles (father would have such a field day), fruits, herbs and spices, the statue of grandma grandpa, in front of the theatre, the national assembly building).